Sick and sniffly. Also trained hungry. Gotta stop these 3-hour long breakfasts and just force-feed myself something in the morning quick(er).

Bench press:
240 x 3
280 x 3
317 x 5
• Was hoping for 6 or 7, but oh well, pretty good. Can't expect a PR every session anymore. A year of that was amazing enough.

Incline bench press:
205 x 3 x 10
205 x 8

Bilateral dumbbell rows:
100s x 5 x 15

Slow dumbbell press:
30s x 25
20s x 30
15s x 30
• Some pec-tendon pain with the 30s. Might go back to wide push-ups instead.

Swiss bar preacher curls:
107 x 10
35 x 20 (slow)

No rear-delt work, wanted to get home and spend new year's eve with my girlfriend. Will throw some in either later or tomorrow. Probably a good thing to let my pecs rest, too.

SSB box squats:
330 x 5

Deadlifts:
405 x 5

SSB squats:
340 x 5

Walkouts:
510 x 12 sec

SSB squats:
150 x 30

Neck work

GHR:
20

Goblet squats:
50 x 50

V-ups for abs

Fun day. No hard structure here, just wanted to hit some of the parts that'll make my deadlift and squat stronger. I was thinking about going heavy on deads but my core is trashed.

Push press:
225 x 5
255 x 3
280 x 0, 0, 1, 0, 0
• As with last time I didn't lockout, which I would count as 0 on other lifts, but I find that as long as the weight gets up there my press goes up, so it's a rep as far as what I need to accomplish.
• My push press form is awful. I had a tendency today especially (possibly because my lower body is still destroyed from squat day) to sink down and pause before trying to explode up, which always resulted in failure. Standing too wide made my explosion weaker, as well, because it took a shorter range of motion for it to become too deep.

Chins:
5 x 12
11
• So much better on my pec-tendons than pull-ups, although I still stop before my speed slows down too much.

Overhead press:
177 x 9, 7, 7
• Rather than try to grind my way to a rep PR I increased the weight and decreased the rest times to make an attainable record go by faster.

Swiss bar OHP:
125 x 13
85 x 15

Skullcrushers:
40s x 10

Spider curls:
50s x 10

Band pull-aparts:
50

Can't wait for UFC 168 tonight.

Squats:
300 x 5
350 x 5
400 x 10
• Very excited about this.

Deadlifts:
417 x 5
• Doing linear progression back up. I need a long period of retraining my CNS to power the weight up.

SSB squats:
322 x 10, 10, 8
• Tweaked my back on the final rep, which was the amount I was going to do anyway, coincidentally. My back has been feeling much better lately, though. Just gotta keep it up and bring in yoga again.

Neck work

Glute-ham raises:
15

RIP my Xperia Play, as much of a crappy phone it turned out to be. One more week until I can get a new one. In the meantime, I've had to make do with my old broken Droid as a music player.

Hiked with the gf for Christmas, keeping in tradition with what I used to do with George back in CA.

Afterwards, went and saw 47 Ronin, which was goofy as hell but had good moments. Defragging Terminator scum in the arcade afterward made it all positively merry.

Christmas Eve training.

Bench press:
230 x 5
265 x 5
300 x 8
• Upper-body was sore so I anticipated doing only 5, but the bar felt light.

Bent-over rows:
225 x 15, 12, 15, 12
↓
Incline bench press:
205 x 10, 10, 10
• The outer edge of my left hand hurt when gripping to remove my wrist cloths. Do more hand extension exercises (e.g. with broccoli bands).

Dumbbell press:
35s x 30
25s x 25
• Very slow and wide to promote chest hypertrophy, something I took from Wade Johnson. Harder than I thought, amazingly. Forearms felt fried.

Swiss bar preacher curls:
85 x 13

Kettlebell rows:
50 x 50

Band pull-aparts:
40

A man was training his son in the gym today and he commented in a complimentary fashion to him how long my warm-up was, which prompted me chat him up. He said my legs look like tree trunks.

Goblet squats:
50 x 55, 50, 45

Partial pistols:
5

Overhead press:
172 x 5
197 x 5
227 x 4, 3
• Couldn't get a 5th, even when adding only 2 pounds per cycle instead of 5.

175 x 10, 10, 10
• A small victory.
↓
Pull-ups:
10, 10, 10, 10
Chin-ups:
12, 12

Overhead dumbbell press:
60s x 14
40s x 20
• Harder than I thought but I was wiped, and made my pec-tendon hurt, surprisingly.

Skullcrushers:
50s x 7

Spider curls:
50s x 13
12

Facepulls:
Stack x 15

Rear-delt flyes:
35s x 14

Deload

Squats:
185 x 5
230 x 5
275 x 5

Deadlifts:
365 x 5

SSB squats:
220 x 3 x 10

Deload

Bench press:
140 x 5
175 x 5
210 x 5

Bilateral dumbbell rows:
80s x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
↓
Incline bench press:
155 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Decline push-ups:
20

My lovely boyfriend, Hormuz,  and I are enjoying imported beers and each other. <3 He trains hard, so I spoil him well. <3

Deload

Goblet squats:
50 x 40, 30, 20

Deload

Overhead press:
105 x 5
130 x 5
160 x 5
135 x 10, 10, 10

Pull-ups:
10, 10, 10

Lat pulldowns:
220 x 15
Arnold press
65s x 10

Literally copied-and-pasted this from last time.

40-minute jog this morning, then walked home. Finally got our fridge replaced so I can eat fresh foods again.

Squats:
345 x 5
390 x 3
435 x 5
• Holy shit, this was easy.

Deadlifts:
412 x 5
• Couldn't even do 405x1 a few days ago. So yeah, I definitely deadlift better at this point in time after squats. Again, it's entirely mental, and I'm considering a max pull on this day until I get my psyche in order. After squats I don't feel shy about my back, I just bend and rip it up.

SSB squats:
320 x 10 x 3 x 10
• Felt extremely light. I even checked the bar again to make sure I was squatting in the 300s.

Neck machine:
100 x 10, 10
↓
Neck crunches:
25 x 10, 10

Deadlifts:
315 x 15

SSB holds:
600 x 10 seconds
510 x 12
420 x 12

Bench press:
260 x 5
295 x 3
330 x 3
• Failed a 4th. For some reason I was lowering slow this session and almost doing a pause bench, so that's not too bad all things considered.

Kroc rows:
165 x 27
• Was way harder on my left side than my right, for some reason. Couldn't get into a natural-feeling position.

Incline bench press:
202 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Meadows rows:
100 x 10, 10

Inverted rows:
200 x 15, 15

Decline push-ups:
17, 15
•Wide to narrow.

Swiss bar preacher curls:
110 x 6
85 x 9

Band pull-aparts

30 minute jog yesterday, and 30 minute walk home.

So, my freezer caught on fire today.

 

Just a ridiculous situation. Still waiting for them to come over and wheel the smelly thing out (the manager office is not supposed to be closed on Sunday). I've had some chest pains from breathing in smoke. 

How much of a dumbass fire do you have to be to try and burn in a freezer?

Deadlifts:
405 x 0, 1

SSB walkout:
490 x 10 sec

SSB squats:
335 x 5, 1
• Back tweaked.

Neck machine:
100 x 10
↓
Neck crunches:
25 x 10
• New icon for super-sets.

SSB squats:
150 x 30, 20

It's clear that I need to get my back health in order before I can be good at the deadlift. Keep up the yoga, go on walks, etc.

Back from anniversary beach stay. Diet was very good, sleep was not.

Overhead press:
195 x 5
225 x 3
250 x 1

175 x 10, 10, 9, 8

Pull-ups:
10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Incline skullcrushers:
50s x 10

One-arm lat pulldowns:
200 x 13

Rear-delt flyes:
20s x 25, 20, 15

Spider curls:
45s x 15, 10, 10

10 minutes of foam rolling and stretching both Saturday and Sunday night.

Squats:
320 x 3
365 x 3
410 x 6
> Interesting. It seems that my squats suffer worse from infrequency than my upper-body. Felt weak, but if I can hit that on a bad day then things are going well.


Deadlifts:
405 x 2, 1
> The weight started sliding off to one side so I had to stop and fetch clips. Was only able to hit 1 after resuming because my back felt bad. Reps were fast enough to just treat these as speed deadlifts.

Goblet squats:
50 x 55, 46. 45

Reverse crunches:
15

Bench press:
245 x 3
280 x 3
315 x 6
> Getting good leg drive by consciously squeezing my glutes everytime I press up. Feels kind of like a glute raise without the raise part.

Bilateral dumbbell rows:
100s x 13, 13, 12, 12

Incline bench press:
200 X 10, 10, 10

Decline push-ups:
30, 23, 15
> Progressively going from super wide to narrow.

Inverted rows:
30, 25

Pull-ups:
10
> Couldn't even hold onto the bar so had to use straps, embarrassingly. My forearms are fried.

Kettlebell preacher curls:
50 x 13
Both arms: 50 x 25, 20

Band pull-aparts
41, 31
> Some pain in right pec tendon. Blame it on the wide push-up set.

Hadn't lifted in almost a week, but strength was as good as ever. Sleep has been bad. I am done staying up all night to fix my sleeping schedule. The only way for me is to make myself wake up at a certain time. I hadn't been doing this because I wanted to get enough sleep but that didn't work out anyway AND I'm waking up in the late afternoon still.

Also, after a full day of not eating any real food (still did what I needed to do by munching on walnuts, blocks of cheddar cheese, and whey), it felt awesome to have a Thanksgiving feast with my girlfriend.

I also finally got the fridge fixed and my diet should be easier now. The thing had been leaking constantly before up and dying, which put me in crisis mode as I fought to prevent all our food from spoiling.

Didn't get around to recording 390x9 squat and 55, 45, 40 kettlebell squats.

Overhead press:
185 x 3
210 x 3
235 x 3

Pull-ups:
10 10 10 10 10 10

Overhead press:
175 x 10, 9
135 x 5, 4, 2
45 x 10

Chin-ups:
10 10

Decline push-ups:
24

Bench press:
225 x 5
265 x 5
295 x 9
> Touch-and-go, but oh well. Wasn't expecting to get such a PR.

Bilateral dumbbell rows:
100s x 12, 12, 12, 12

Incline bench press:
197 x 10, 10, 10
> Short rest times, so this was good.

Decline push-ups:
25, 21, 20
> Increasingly widened my arms to go from triceps to chest.

Inverted rows:
30, 22, 25

Band pull-aparts:
30, 30

Kettlebell preacher curls:
50 x 12
Bilateral: 50 x 20

Despite a stressful week my upper-body strength is surging. I'm constantly up for very long periods at a time but also getting 10 hours of sleep after crashing, so I can't complain. Creatine might also be helping. I heard of a recent study focusing on just how anti-catabolic creatine is at preserving muscle tissue in...I think what was either starved mice or human burn victims. Definitely want to dig that up because I don't really notice an acute performance boost from creatine otherwise in terms of getting more reps and whatnot.

I'm also allowing my diet to go to hell when need be by drinking lots of milk when time is tight and I'm on the go. I am very okay with this. I'm in no rush for any deadline to lose weight and it's easier to re-lose a few gained pounds than it is to rebound after losing strength. Still, I would do well to come up with some homemade meal replacement recipe that I can go to in a pinch instead of sugary fixes like milk.

Falling off the dietary wagon for me used to mean not eating for long periods of time and getting weaker; now it's shoveling things down and getting protein in, body composition-be-damned. It's a good change.

Kettlebell goblet squats:
50 lbs x 50, 40, 40
> Fell asleep and took a short nap after the first set, then woke and finished the rest.

Overhead press:
170 x 5
195 x 5
225 x 4
225 x 5
> The push press plan worked. Would have gotten 5 on the first set but I tweaked my neck again - goddamn, this is getting ridiculous. Going to start being vigilant about isolating my neck from on. Very happy with this, especially about getting a successful 5 with neck pain.

175 x 10, 8, 8

One-arm lat pulldowns:
200 x 12, 12, 12

Pull-ups:
10, 10

Kettlebell skullcrushers (unilateral):
50 x 12

Kettlebell preacher curls (unilateral):
50 x 12, 12

Deload

Bench press:
140 x 5
170 x 5
205 x 5

Dumbbell rows:
80s x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Incline bench press:
155 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Decline push-ups:
20

Deload with kettlebell squats, of sorts.

40, 30, 20

I'm pleased with how 30+ has become easy and that I can now hit 50 no problem. I remember my second time doing these getting 35 as a max and thinking Jesus, did I really do 50 last time?

Deload

Overhead press:
105 x 5
130 x 5
160 x 5
135 x 10, 10, 10

Pull-ups:
10, 10, 10

Lat pulldowns:
220 x 15
Arnold press
65s x 10

Squats:
335 x 5
380 x 3
425 x 5
> High rep bodyweight and kettlebell squats are doing wonders for my numbers.

Deadlifts:
405 x 5
> Just a maintenance set. Hoping to make 405 the new 315. I think I'm going to spend next cycle just pulling for strong reps and then attempt a max after.

SSB squats:
317 x 10, 10, 5
> Felt a small tweak in my back so I stopped. Completely better now, but I think I should start doing yoga again.

Neck machine:
100 x 10

Bench press:
255 x 5
290 x 3
325 x 4
> Good leg drive. Warm-ups felt heavy and max set light.

Incline bench press:
195 x 10, 10, 10, 8

Kroc rows:
165 x 26

Inverted rows:
30, 20

Decline push-ups:
30

Band pull-aparts:
50

Kettlebell goblet squats:
50 lbs x 50, 35, 40

Was mostly trying to get a lot of reps in just a few sets and I don't care about hypertrophy so I took my sweet time with these. Basically I did sets in-between relaxing around the house. I do acknowledge a lot of value in short rest times but cramps set in for me with legs.

Lots to record.

Unsuccessful deadlift session last week, again. I've come to realize that I need to practice not failing at the deadlift. For a little bit I'm going to stick to 405 and shoot for rep PRs.

Decent squat day, 405x6. Back was fatigued, mostly.

Push pressed 255x3 again but failed 275. I actually got 275 up multiple times but couldn't lockout.

I'm loading on creatine as an aid for cutting weight. Second day today, gotta remember to take it every meal for loading.

And with that, I'm off for some Halloweening.

Bench press:
240 x 5
275 x 3
310 x 6

Bilateral dumbbell rows:
100s x 11, 10, 10, 10, 12

Incline bench press:
192 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Decline push-ups:
25

Spider curls:
45s x 12

Facepulls:
20

Push press:
225 x 5
255 x 3
275 x 0, 0
255 x 3

Pull-ups:
10, 10, 10

Overhead press:
172 x 10, 10, 10

Overhead skullcrushers:
87 x 14

One-arm lat pulldowns:
12, 12

Forgot to record my deadlift day. Failed 535 again but had a small victory from being able to hold on to 365x8 overhand. Wasn't hard but I've never really tried it over 315 before. I have a goal for doing that with 405x5.

I've been wrecking my back and enjoying the assistance work in the meantime so I'm not frustrated.

Squats:
290 x 5
335 x 5
380 x 6
> Had to stop because my back was so fatigued. I wore it out doing deadlifts and then barbell rows yesterday kept that going.

SSB squats:
240 x 15, 9, 6

Bench press:
225 x 5
255 x 5
290 x 8

Bent-over rows:
207 x 10

Incline bench press:
190 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Bilateral dumbbell rows:
100s x 10, 10, 10, 10

Decline push-ups:
21

Spider curls:
40s x 12

Overhead press:
170 x 5
195 x 5
225 x 3, 4
> Couldn't get 5. I've gone over a year without failing a training day (not counting deadlifts). It's been a fantastic run. I will be training push presses for the next three weeks and retry next cycle.

One-arm lat pulldowns:
200 x 12, 11, 11, 11
Two: 220 x 20

Arnold press:
75s x 10, 10, 10, 10

Rear-delt flyes:
25s x 20, 20

Swiss bar preacher curls:
95 x 10

I'm cutting weight. I like the way I feel better in the 205 lb area. Also importantly, I find that my strength capacity is the same there as it is 240+. Only difference up there is that I'm fatter. Sure, the journey on that weight gain yields great results, but I can be just as strong light as I can heavier at the end of the day; it just might not happen as rapidly.

I think my era of dramatic bulks is over, aside from competition aspirations (as it stands, though, the 198 lb weight class sounds dandy).

This will be done slowly. My only changes this week are to halve my milk intake, lessen my sugar intake post-workout, and to avoid ice cream for dessert.

Deload

Squats:
175 x 5
220 x 5
265 x 5

SSB squats:
205 x 10, 10, 10

Reverse crunches

Deload

Bench press:
135 x 5
170 x 5
205 x 5

Dumbbell rows:
80s x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Incline bench press:
155 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Deload

Deadlifts:
Up to 365 x 5
275 x 10

SSB squats:
275 x 3 x 5

Deload

Overhead press:
105, 130, 155 x 5
125 x 5 x 10

Chins:
6 x 10

Overheard skullcrushers:
35s x 11

Entry #1250

I've been posting updates from my phones' Blogger app so exposition has been nil. What's been happening: my knee has been bugging me so I've been keeping it wrapped and going easy on it for about a week now.

Squats:
330 x 5
370 x 3
415 x 5
> Whew, wasn't sure if my knee would hold up. No pain. Great set considering I was a little gunshy with it.

SSB squats:
317 x 6
> My back just couldn't hold the weight up anymore, it was so fatigued.

Goblet squats:
50 x 30, 30

Bench press:
255 x 5
285 x 3
320 x 4

Kroc rows:
160 x 25

Incline bench press:
187 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Barbell rows:
205 x 10, 10, 10

Lying lat pulldowns:
230 x 200

Bilateral dumbbell rows
100 x 10

Good mornings:
200 x 10, 10, 10
150 x 15

Towel pull-ups:
3, 3, 3, 3, 2

Leg press:
Worked up to 5 plates x 20. Shallow reps but with no lockout to hammer my quads.

Overhead press:
195 x 5
220 x 3
245 x 1

170 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

One-arm lat pulldowns:
200 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 12
Two-arm:
30

Incline skullcrushers:
50 * 10

Reacher curls
92 * 10, 10

Flys
25 * 30, 25

Entry #1246

Squats:
330 x 3
350 x 3
395 x 8

SSB squats:
317 x 1, 10, 11
> Knee hurt so I stopped after a rep, rested for a minute, and then tried again with a wider stance. Worked well.

Good mornings:
200 x 12

Goblet squats:
50 x 50, 35, 30
> Wow, these are awesome! Really worked my abs. Same effect as a SSB with the weight pitching me forward.

Entry #1245

Bench press:
235 x 3
270 x 3
305 x 6

Bilateral dumbbell rows:
100s x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Incline bench press:
185 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Decline push-ups:
23, 17

Inverted rows:
25, 20

Curls and rear-delt stuff

Entry #1244

Failed the 535 deadlift again. Bailed early when I felt it start to hurt. Back hasn't been feeling great lately, need to use my standing desk more and doing walking and yoga again.

Deadlifted 405x2 after and just felt like lead, so did 315x15 instead.

I love 315; it's my comfort number. Heavy enough to still get work done but light enough to not be hard and allows me to adjust my form on the fly if a habit that day got me off on the max set.

Did a set of 105 bodyweight squats at home, then 50 a little later.

Entry #1243

I'm very disappointed to be coming down to CA next month instead of this week, meaning I'll miss the strongman event I was looking forward to all this time. I'll keep my eyes peeled for anything going on in Portland because after two missed occasions I'm very hungry for competition again (PDX Weightlifting has stopped holding meets so no more Oly events to wing, even).

Back to work after three days of "rest" (on Saturday night I did hill sprints). Done on 5 hours of sleep today. I took a 30 minute nap before training which helped a lot but at the cost of feeling hungry.

Overhead press:
180 x 3
205 x 3
230 x 3
> Felt incredibly dizzy all throughout the warm-ups and build-ups so I was worried about missing this since my press progress has been slowing down, but it came easily. Actually half-attempted a fourth but the bar stopped a few inches off my chest and I didn't bother to try and grind it out.

167 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

One-arm lat pulldowns:
200 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
Both arms:
220 x 25

Decline skullcrushers:
50s x 10

Swiss bar preacher curls:
92 x 10, 10
Drop-set: 85 x 8, 35 x 10

Rear-delt flyes:
25s x 25, 20

Entry #1242

Squats:
285 x 5
330 x 5
372 x 11
> Was aiming for 10 but felt good for another so I hit it. Not bad at all.

SSB squats:
317 x 10, 10
> I have no idea how I got 10 on the second set; I was aiming for 5, then kept saying "1 more". Came extremely close to failing.

Bodyweight squats:
60, 50

Girlfriend good mornings:
20
> Fun but almost no challenge. 

Entry #1241

Bench press:
220 x 5
250 x 5
287 x 9

Incline bench press:
185 x 10, 10, 10, 5

Kroc rows:
160 x 25

Row-ups:
10, 10, 10

Decline push-ups:
30, 17, 20

Inverted rows:
20, 20

Band pull-aparts:
40, 40

Entry #1240

Failed to deadlift 535. Couldn't even break it off the floor. This is a consistent pattern so I'm not worried in the slightest, although I still plan on doing ROM training eventually for more dependable performances in the future.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to do anything else so on the drive home I set a challenge to myself of 100 bodyweight squats in my living room. Got it all in a straight set, amazingly, and it wasn't too hard, although I rest-paused for a few seconds on occasions.

Edit: Just did another 51.

Entry #1239

Overhead press:
170 x 5
195 x 5
220 x 4
220 x 5
> Only got 4 the first time and, feeling a little disappointed, went to do back work when I realized I didn't even get the 5-minumum for the 5 week. Rested a bit at the expense of sufficient time for assistance exercises and had a much stronger performance for 5 reps.

One-arm lat pulldowns:
200 x 10, 10, 10

Overhead press:
167 x 10, 8
Drop-set:
135 x 5

Extreme decline push-ups:
20, 30, 23

Inverted rows:
25, 25, 20

Entry #1238

Deload

Squats:
170 x 5
215 x 5
255 x 5

SSB squats:
202 x 3 x 10

SSB good mornings:
180 x 10

Entry #1237

Deload

Bench press:
135, 165, 200 x 5

Bilateral dumbbell rows:
80s x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Incline bench press:
155 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Lying pulldowns:
230 x 15

Decline push-ups:
15

Entry #1236

Three workouts to record, including a squat video. I use separate entries for each to organize for future reference (e.g. when viewing the mobile site on my phone at the gym to check what I did before).

Deload

Deadlifts:
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5

Snatch-grip:
225 x 5

SSB squats:
225 x 5, 5, 5

Entry #1235

Deload

Overhead press:
100 x 5
127 x 5
152 x 5

135 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Lat pulldowns:
200 x 20, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15

Overhead skullcrushers:
35s x 11

Spider curls:
35s x 11

Everything felt heavy, especially the 135. Deload is just in time.

Entry #1234

Squats:
320 x 5
365 x 3
405 x 5


SSB squats:
315 x 10, 10, 8

Hamstring curls:
200 x 15 

Entry #1233

Bench press:
250 x 5
285 x 3
315 x 5



Incline bench press:
185 x 3 x 10

Kroc rows:
160 x 24

Decline push-ups:
26, 23, 19

Inverted rows:
25, 20, 20, 20

Kettlebell skullcrushers:
50 x 12

Kettlebell unilateral preacher curls:
50 x 12
Bilateral:
50 x 15, 15

Band pull-aparts:
41, 40

Entry #1232

Deadlifts:
315 x 5
405 x 5
455 x 3
530 x 1 (PR)

405 x 2
>  Noticed the sit-up benches were close to the bar and I instinctively pitched forward to avoid hitting them (even though I wouldn't have), which tweaked my back. Dumb, lazy mistake.

SSB squats:
330 x 5
335 x 5
> Used a belt because of my back. It felt okay. Should be better in a few days.

Entry #1231

Forgot to record that I swam on Friday. 4 laps of sloppy power swimming where my body didn't stay very horizontal, then a lap after some rest, then 2 laps where my form clicked in and it suddenly felt easy.

Overhead press:
190 x 5
215 x 3
240 x 2
> Jesus, did not expect to get 2 so easily.

165 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 9

One-arm lat pulldowns:
200 x 9, 9, 9, 9, 9
Two:
250 x 15

Inverted rows:
20

Unilateral kettlebell skullcrushers:
50 x 12, 12

Kettlebell preacher curls, unilateral:
50 x 12, 10, 10
Bilateral:
50 x 20

Band pull-aparts:
50, 40

Entry #1230

Squats:
300 x 3
342 x 3
385 x 8

SSB squats:
315 x 11
240 x 10
150 x 10
60 x 10

Hamstring curls:
200 x 15

Entry #1229

Bench press:
235 x 3
265 x 3
300 x 7
> Warm-ups felt really heavy all the way from 185, yet I still got a PR.

Incline bench press:
180 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Bilateral dumbbell rows:
100s x 12, 10, 10, 10, 10, 11

At home:

Incline kettlebell skullcrushers, unilateral:
50 x 11

Decline push-ups:
23, 20

Kettlebell preacher curls, unilateral:
50 x 3 x 10
Bilateral:
50 x 20, 15

Band pull-aparts:
40

Entry #1228

It's been a full year of doing 5/3/1 straight so I thought I'd evaluate my progress.

This will be screwy since I'm comparing different rep ranges, as well as different bars lifts, but it should still illustrate change well enough.

August 2012
Press (Swiss bar): 160x10
Deadlift: 465x5
Bench press (Swiss bar): 265x6
Squat (SSB): 380x5

August 2013
Press: 225x4, 162x5x10 assistant work after
Deadlift: 525
Bench press: 310x4
Squat: 395x5

I've found that in general my straight bar pressing is 5 lbs higher than Swiss bar, so that can be taken into account.

My pressing has shot up while I've had to fight sharp regresses on the deadlift and contending with a 9-month quad injury that prevented me from free squatting. The deadlift was my own fault. I took the notion of infrequent pulling off the floor being a good idea and ran with it even though I'd been making progress week-to-week. Eventually I stopped box squatting, too, feeling demotivated on lower body lifts entirely. Just a few months ago I started at it again and learned how to have fun even if I'm not necessarily at my strongest in the gym - the consistency of which ended up making me my strongest ever, if only by a few pounds over last year.

Entry #1227

Deadlifts:
315 x 5
365 x 5
405 x 3
455 x 3
525 x 1

405 x 8

> Sore legs but I still crushed this PR. I'd planned on doing partials off of plastic stools but they made me lower too slowly out of fear of breaking them. I'm using straps more because my right pinky finger has been hurting from gripping raw, otherwise I'd chalk up for everything but the max set like I do with my belt.
On that note, recently I very humbly shared my experience with straps helping me with my deadlift woes on the Iron Radio Facebook page and even linked to Emevas' article on the matter and I got total shit for it. Dayum. Just going to keep doing what works for me, then. People can be so rude.

SSB squats:
330 x 5, 5, 5

Entry #1226

Overhead press:
175 x 3
200 x 3
225 x 4

165 x 10, 10, 9

One-arm lat pulldowns:
200 x 9, 9, 8, 8

Clean and jerk:
185 x 5
> To my chagrin it seems that trying to control the weight while dropping it from a clean hurts my pec tendons. Stopped once I realized this.

Exteme decline push-ups:
17, 15, 15

Inverted rows:
25, 25, 20

Kettlebell skullcrushers:
50 x 9

Kettlebell preacher curls:
25, 20

Squats:
280 x 5
320 x 5
365 x 10

SSB squat drop-set:
315 x 10
240 x 10
150 x 10

On the 7th rep of 315 I got a splitting weightlifter's headache that lasted the rest of the set and made it hell to get through. I was dying by the end. Stumbled home drenched in sweat with my head pounding to a worried girlfriend and spent about 30 minutes just sitting in the shower with the water raining down on me.

Didn't get to practice SSB walks like I planned to because of that and the gym closing. Man! Every day this week has been a PR which is amazing yet my strongman training hasn't been everything I wanted it to be.

Entry #1224

Bench press:
215 x 5
250 x 5
285 x 8

Incline bench press:
177 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Kroc rows:
160 x 25

Lying lat pulldowns:
220 x 15, 15, 18, 15

Incline push-ups:
25

Bilateral kettlebell curls:
50 x 30

Haven't gotten the hang of thick bar cleans this week like I'd wanted to but my hands, forearms, and back are all killing me so I'm at least getting something relevant done. I'll tackle them again this Sunday on the gymnastic mats.

Entry #1223

Deadlifts:
315 x 5
405 x 5
455 x 2
520 x 1
> Sweet PR. Pulling with straps is awesome, wish I'd done this sooner. I feel like my arms can hang much more than with a mixed grip. I watched some footage of me failing to get 520 last time and my supinated side was bent quite a bit so it may have been just a matter of time before a bicep blowout.  Also, I've found great success in keeping my head downish, surprisingly.

SSB squats:
325 x 5, 5, 5
> I love that this is now a weight that makes for the relaxing, whew-the-hard-part-is-over part of the session.

Deadlifts:
325 x 12

Farmer's walks:
100s + Fat Gripz around the gym
> Sadly, this is about all I can do since I broke one of my dumbbell handles last year. Looong ago I used to do oblique side-bends with a 135 lb barbell in one hand, maybe I can figure something ghetto out with two barbells or something.

I'm training for a strongman competition that Em invited me to in California a little over a month from now. I attempted to implement one of the events from it today but that didn't go over well.

Overhead press:
165 x 5
190 x 5
215 x 6
> Kickass!

162 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

One-arm lat pulldowns:
200 x 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
Two arms:
250 x 15

Messed around with 155 lb high pulls

Incline skullcrushers + Fat Gripz:
45s x 10

Rear-felt flyes:
20s x 25, 25

Spider curls:
35s x 10, 10, 12

I was planning on doing clean and jerks with Fat Gripz on the bar to simulate an axle lift but the rule stating that the weight must be lowered under control completely threw me off. Trying to decelerate a heavy barbell from a clean height has fucked my back up in the past; I started noticing it being a problem at 205 before. I'll wear a belt and practice high pulls for now so I can nail the timing of using my legs to brace the fall more than my back.

Ugh. Nothing is less fun than combining Olympic movements and eccentrics.

Entry #1221

Squats:
170 x 5
210 x 5
250 x 5

SSB squats:
200 x 10, 10

Good mornings:
180 x 10

Oh yeah, uh, deload. I swear.

Entry #1220

Bought a pair of IronMind straps because I lost one of my old cheap ones. 

Deload

Bench press:
130 x 5
160 x 5
195 x 5

Incline bench press:
155 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Bilateral dumbbell rows:
80s x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Horizontal cable rows (straps + Fat Gripz):
230 x 20

Decline push-ups:
15

Swiss bar hammer curls:
85 x 13

Deload

Deadlifts:
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5

Snatch-grip:
225 x 5

SSB squats:
220 x 5, 5, 5, 5

Entry #1218

Went on a 40-minute jog yesterday and walked about half a mile home.

Deload

Overhead press:
100 x 5
125 x 5
150 x 5

135 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Lat pulldowns:
200 x 20, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15

Overhead skullcrushers:
35s x 11

Spider curls:
25s x 12

Entry #1217

Squats:
315 x 5
355 x 3
395 x 5
> Happy that I was able to do this with my problem quad. It seems to be an issue when going ATG, mostly when doing a bodyweight squat. Standing a little wider is my answer for now. I'd really hate to give up squats again this year.

315 x 10
225 x 10
135 x 10
45 x 10

Leg curls:
Full stack x 15

Reverse crunches:
30

#1216

Failed to deadlift 520 yesterday. Didn't even get a struggle out of it, I just mentally couldn't get it more than an inch off the floor before I'd involuntarily bail. Considering how easy 510 was last week I should have had this, but s'okay. When this happens I just move on to assistant work that makes my back strong and inevitably set a PR one or two weeks later.

Bench press:
245 x 5
280 x 3
310 x 4
> Pec tendon hurt a little on the first set only, as a result from jumping up from my last warm-up of 135 to 245. I usually throw a 185 in between there and maybe a 225 but was in a hurry.

Incline bench:
175 x 3 x 10

Kroc rows:
160 x 22
> Grip is beat up so I used a strap. Rather than try to squeeze out 3 sets I'm taking Kroc's recommendation of warming-up to one set.

At the park:

Incline push-ups:
25, 20, 20, 10

Inverted rows:
30, 25, 20, 11

Entry #1215

Overhead press:
185 x 5
210 x 3
235 x 0
235 x 1
> Anterior delts were still sore from bench day. Probably should have waited until tomorrow but in the end I prevailed. Whew.

160 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
> Only planned on doing 3 and then kept telling myself one more.

One-hand lat pull-downs w/ Fat Gripz + straps:
200 x 7, 7, 7, 7, 7
Two-handed w/ Fat Gripz:
20
Without Fat Gripz:
13

Incline skullcrushers w/ Fat Gripz:
45s x 10

Cable curls
> Ditch these and any free-space curls, they inevitably flare up my pec-tendon.

Spider curls:
25s x 8, 8, 15
> Now these were killer. Great exercise, no pain.

Rear-delt flyes:
25s x 25
15s x 20

My arms are beat. Was liberal with the volume because it's the last week before the deload, otherwise I would have backed off.

Entry #1214

My right quadricep (the problem one from last year) is starting to hurt again. I'm definitely going to keep vigilant about it. I've noticed that squatting down for extended periods of time seems to cause this from the extreme stretch, not so much loaded squats. For example, when training my client on Tuesday I demonstrated this to her in order to explain how the heels should not raise when squatting; I also just do this out of habit coming from a relatively chairless culture.

Squats:
295 x 3
335 x 3
375 x 8
> Exactly what I wanted, but concentration was a bit out the window tonight between sets and the build-up  felt heavy.

SSB squats:
310 x 10
240 x 7
150 x 10
> Was running out of time and didn't want to do my usual 3x10 because of my quad so I took inspiration from Emevas' drop-set and started out going for a 1-set weight increase rather than a volumous one.

Good mornings:
185 x 10
> Back was atrociously pumped from short rest times so I kept this light. Barely made it, felt like an accordion by the end.

At home:

50 lb kettlebell swings:
25, 25

RKC planks:
30 secs, 30 secs
> Ditch these, made my left pec-tendon ache a little.

Entry #1213

Good training day. I worked up a sweat listening to my neighbor lament about his luck with women for over an hour and then exercised my eyesite by trying to make out what PS2 games he had while he talked to me about how stupid and blind Karen is for not leaving her husband for him. I made out Red Dead Revolver, Black (that kickass shooter from the makers of Burnout), and I think Gran Turismo 3.

Went on an hour-long walk before that.

Entry #1212

Bench press:
230 x 3
260 x 3
295 x 7
> Kickass. This has been a great cycle.

Incline bench press:
172 x 5 x 10
> Still really easy but forcing myself to stick to 2 lb increases.

Lying one-handed cable rows:
200 x 2 x 10

Lying bilateral dumbbell rows:
100s x 3 x 10

Lying cable rows:
200 x 30

Decline push-ups:
22

Dumbbell curls and facepulls

In other news, I'm officially self-employed as a personal trainer. Taught my first trainee today and had a blast. All the friends, family, and my girlfriend I've drilled before really helped a lot. Since we're starting off with one day a week I structured a full-body template for her within the confines of the limited equipment we had access to at her apartment's fitness center. The set-up was a leg movement, a push, and a pull as the meat-and-potatoes for 3 sets of 10, with anything else being assistance exercises for fun. Working with just dumbbells, an EZ bar, and some machines, I had her do goblet squats, EZ bar overhead press, and dumbbell rows, with shoulder shockers and dumbbell curls to finish it all off. Next time we're going to throw cardio in the mix and I might have her hit the focus mitts. Bringing my kettlebells along is also in order.

Entry #1211

Deadlifts:
365 x 5
405 x 3
455 x 2
510 x 1
> It's not much but this is a lifetime PR. The 10 reps at the end and good mornings on squat day seem to be helping a lot. I'm looking back at my entry on July 10 when I couldn't even break 365 off the ground and I'm glad I didn't let myself be frustrated at that. Even at low weights I've matured enough to know how to enjoy myself.

SSB squats:
325 x 5, 5, 5

Deadlifts:
320 x 10

Entry #1210

Haven't trained my upper-body in 5 6 days. Turns out it's no sweat.

Overhead press:
175 x 3
200 x 3
225 x 3
> Might have been good for a 4th.

157 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10
> Strained my neck really badly on the second to last set, but managed to finish anyways. Bring back facepulls for warming-up to open up any prone-to-impingement areas; this never happened when I did them. Hurts to move my head right now but it's not a serious injury.

One-arm lat pulldowns:
200 x 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Two-arms:
200 x 30

Incline skullcrushers with Fat Gripz:
45s x 8

Swiss bar preacher curls:
95 x 8, 8, 10

Dumbbell external rotations:
8 x 15, 12

Entry #1209

Squats:
270 x 5
315 x 5
355 x 10

SSB squats:
305 x 3 x 10

Good mornings:
185 x 10

Lifted at 9 am. Felt refreshing.

Hit 24 Hour Fitness at 2 am this "morning" (I was up late).

Bench press:
215 x 5
245 x 5
280 x 8
> Even though I did this last December I'm glad that I've solidified this as an everyday max while trying to train around my pec tendons (which felt fine and are continuing to improve).

Incline bench press:
170 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Kroc rows:
160 x 15, 12, 12
> Got tired of plates falling off my dumbbell handle so I simplified things by just jumping up 10 lbs and working with 3 25 pounders on each side, which leaves more room for a pin to stay snug. Crazy weight to hold raw.

Lying bilateral dumbbell rows:
125 lb dumbbells x 5, 4
> This is always so hard. Overestimated myself.

Lying one-handed cable rows:
200 x 15

Decline push-ups:
20, 15

Rowing machine:
100 x 10, 10
> I like these. Too bad my regular gym doesn't have one.

Band pull-aparts:
20, 20
> My snapped Monster mini snapped again, rendering it useless. RIP.

Dumbbell preacher curls:
40s x 8, 7
30s x 10

Came home at 5 am to my girlfriend waiting for my car outside with dinner (breakfast?) ready on the stove. I PR'd in human relationships getting her.

Entry #1207

30 minute jog today.

Entry #1206

Deadlifts:
135, 225, 315, 365 x 5
405 x 3, 5
435 x 1
> I'm finding my confidence again. Past few times I couldn't even break 385 and 365 off the floor, respectively, so it goes to show that this is a mental hang-up over my back. Every week my deadlift is jumping 25-50 lbs. I was gradually making my way to 435x5 but after the single more than an hour had passed, I was hungry, and wanted to have time to do squats.

SSB squats:
322 x 5, 5, 5

Deadlifts:
315 x 10

Felt good to hit everything after staying up all night. Session took something like two hours but it was very relaxing because of long rest times and the lack of pressure to PR. I went in tired and left energized.

Entry #1205

Overhead press:
160 x 5
185 x 5
210 x 5
> Couldn't come up for a 6th. Looking back, I did this in April. Darn.

155 x 10, 10, 10, 10, 8
> Rested too briefly for that last set, couldn't get it up for a 9th. I've been at this weight for a while so I'm going to go ahead and ascend to 157 next time.

One-arm lat pulldown:
200 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Both hands: 20

Fat Gripz skullcrushers:
45s x 8
35s x 6
> Usually can get 12 with the 45s but rest times were short.

At home:

One-hand kettlebell preacher curls:
50 lb bell x 10, 10, 10

Band pull-aparts:
20, 30
> Both of these exercises made my pec tendon hurt, and enigmatically it was already achy at the start of the day before training. Ditching these. Make sure to get to the gym early so I can do everything there.

Entry #1204

Went on a 90 minute walk to get some sun-instilled Vitamin D. Few minutes of foam rolling later at night.

Those lunges really destroyed my posterior, and I will gladly accept the awkward pedance of that term over the juvenile implications that "destroyed my ass" makes me think of. I suppose that by even reasoning that in type I've defeated the entire point of avoiding it, though.

Only getting about 4,000 calories or so today because my time's been short. I slept for 10 hours, woke up late, and am going to bed early for me. I've been needing to catch up.

Entry #1203

Deload

Squats:
165 x 5
207 x 5
245 x 5
> Meant to add my wrist weights so I'd be up 2 lbs more from last deload, but only remembered on the second set. Oh well.

Pause squats:
225 x 10

Walking lunges:
85 lb dumbbells x 16, 16

Good mornings:
185 x 10

Entry #1202

Swam 4 laps, then individual laps totaling 7.

10 minutes of yoga and foam rolling at night.

Entry #1201

I'm currently getting ready for a job interview at LA Fitness in about an hour and a half. Fingers crossed.

Breakfast: smoked salmon, multi-grain toast, milk, multivitamin.

Entry #1200

Deload

Bench press:
130 x 5
160 x 5
195 x 5
> Pec tendons seem to be recovering well. Nixing chin-ups seemed to make the difference.

Incline bench press:
170 x 10, 10, 10

Meadows rows:
110 x 10
120 x 10, 10

Various kettlebell curls

Wow, log consistency is through the roof ever since the switch. I record my sets as I go at the gym using the app and then edit in notes at home on the computer.

Entry #1199

Deload

Deadlifts:
135×10
225×5
315×5
365×0
315×10, 10, 10
> Back is feeling bad and I have a critical mental hang-up about pulling really hard. Not going to overanalyze this, just need to get and stay healthy while deadlifting as consistently as possible. May revert back to linear progression if I have to reset too greatly, if not ROM progression. I should also note that 315 felt heavy at first and then really easy after rep 5 of the second set all of a sudden.

SSB squats:
320×5, 5, 5

Reverse crunches:
30

Planks

Entry #1198

Deload

Overhead press:
100 x 5
120 x 5
145 x 6

135 x 15

One-handed lat pulldowns:
160 x 15, 15, 15

Dumbbell military press:
75s x 5
80s x 5

Lying dumbbell rows:
100s x 10, 10

Cable curls:
Entire stack x 10, 8

Facepulls:
Entire stack x 20

Entry #1197

Wow, I haven't been this surprised about a UFC fight since Cro-Cop lost to Gonzaga in 2007.

Stayed up all night to reset my schedule. Took a three hour nap from 2-5, went to bed at 9, then woke up at 2 to get something to eat. I'll probably try to catch some more z's after this.

In other news, I've actually been counting my calories and will continue to do so thanks to a phone app that makes it easy. I eat way more than I thought I do, easily surpassing 5,000 calories everyday, sometimes 6. Seriously, who knew that the glass of milk I drink every meal has almost 700 calories? Awesome.

Entry #1196

Squat:
307x5
347x3
387x5
> I was aiming for 6. Have been squatting once a week instead of the usual twice, so make sure to keep up squatting frequency next cycle.

SSB squat:
305x10
307x10

Hindu squats:
50

Kettlebell swings:
50 lb bell x25

Reverse crunches and planks

I am liking this a lot more than xanga. Posted half of this on my phone at the gym, finished recording the rest at home.

Entry #1195

Well, this is a bittersweet day. Due to xanga's closing of doors come July 15th, I will be moving this log and the continuation of my journey onto Blogger: http://powpowpunishment.blogspot.com

I've hated xanga for a long time now - my login is never retained, I have to pay for features that other blog sites provide for free, the bloat of unwanted gimmicks I never use like credits and Minis, their sudden and unapologetic dropping of API support so I can get around the login by posting from Scribefire, lack of a mobile layout...I can go on. But for nine years I've been here, inconveniences and all, for continuity's sake. This thing has a lot of memories, but I'm glad the xanga team made the decision for me.

The tears are starting to flow. Ugh. You know what? One more log entry, for old time's sake. Getting down on my living room floor right now...

Crying push-up:
1
> Technically a PR for this exercise.

There it is. My last recording.

Entry #1194

I've been sleeping terribly the past four days due to the heat (I know, I'm in freaking Oregon, but my apartment retains heat at night like crazy) and took an extra two days off, yet I surprised myself tonight.

Bench press:
240 x 5
275 x 3
305 x 5
> Considering I went in hoping for 4 with 3 as a "safe" number this was a win. I was good for 6, possibly 7, but my pec tendons felt pain-free for the first time in a while and I didn't want to grind with them. Felt amazingly strong. I wonder if it's just a typical week-3 peak or if the push-ups have something to do with it.

Incline bench:
167 x 4 x 10

Kroc rows:
150 lb dumbbell x 25, 15
> I had to rest-pause on the first set after reps 12 and 15, respectively, due to my grip. This is pretty much the heaviest dumbbell I've ever held without straps.

One-handed inverted cable rows:
180 lbs x 10, 10

Inverted rows:
25, 20

Decline push-ups:
25, 20

Kettlebell preacher curls:
50 lb bell x 10, 8, 8

Band pull-aparts

I weighed 237 on the gym scale, so I've lost 2 lbs.

Entry #1193

For 6/28 I felt like absolute s*** and had heartburn from lifting on a full stomach but managed to overhead press 230x1. Obviously 225x4 was way better but it felt really good to get this over my head and it's nice to know that this constitutes one of my "bad" days.

Sleep has been terrible lately because of the heat and I haven't been keeping up with deadlifting.

Entry #1191

Three(!) to record.

Squats:
350 x 10
300 x 10, 10, 8

Saturday:

Overhead press:
170 x 3
195 x 3
220 x 3
155 x 10, 10, 10, 5, 5

Unilateral pulldowns:
Entire stack x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Supinated bench pulldown:
Entire stack x 20

Skullcrushers + curls

 

Monday:

Bench press:
290 x 6

Incline bench:
167 x 10, 9, 7
> Short rest times due to time constraints.

Kroc rows:
145 x 20, 15, 15

Entry #1192

Squat:
287 x 3
327 x 3
367 x 8

Safety bar squats:
305 x 10, 10

Hamstring curls:
Entire stack on machine x 15

Bodyweight squats: 50

50 lb kettlebell swings: 30

Reverse crunches and RKC planks

I almost puked.

Entry #1190

Couldn't deadlift over 385 on Saturday so I just did some maintenance SSB squats 320 x 3 x 5 and fooled around with 315 on the bar, doing a set for 10 at the end. I'd injured my back during the deload a week prior and even though I was better I mentally could not get the bar off the ground any heavier than that. I'd never felt anything like it. I'd give half an effort before my body would just refuse to exert anymore. I'm not worried though. Deadlifting during the deload felt incredible, I just need to get my back healthy enough again. Even crunches at the end were a little hard.

Today:

Swiss bar bench press:
210 x 5
240 x 5
275 x 7
> I just realized today that with the width I'm using this is a close-grip bench press. I was hoping for 8. My pec tendon hurt on 210 but felt better the last two sets. I believe it's holding me back. My plan is to get rid of chin-ups and pull-ups and see if anything improves. If not, I'll roll in incline press for 5/3/1 and see how that feels at max effort (and if it's even feasible setting up in a power rack).

Incline bench press:
165 x 5 x 10
> Not a breeze but I don't seem to fatigue with this exercise. By the second set I have to make an effort but then that difficulty level stays consistent until the last set.

Kroc rows:
140 x 23, 21
140 x 15, 15

Supine supinated cable rows:
? x 10, 10, 20 (bilateral)

A set of cable curls

Entry #1189

Had a deload I didn't record.

Press:
160 x 5
180 x 5
205 x 6
> Misgrooved on rep 3 and my left arm bore a lot of the weight unevenly. Despite getting 8.5 hours of sleep I was tired all day and lifted very sleepily, so staying tight was an issue.

152 x 5 x 10
> This was grueling. Probably can't ride this out too much longer.

NG pull-ups:
15, 15, 15, 15

Chin-ups:
15
> Super easy after the pull-ups.

Incline Fat Gripz skullcrushers:
45s x 9

Rear-delt raises:
25s x 15

Swiss bar preacher curls:
90 x 10

Dumbbell curls:
40s x 8

Entry #1188

Squats:
300 x 5
340 x 3
380 x 6
> Good and easy. Should be able to retain this rep range at increasing poundages for a few cycles more.

SSB squats:
295 x 10, 10, 8

Hamstring curls:
200 x 8, 10
Some lighter weight x 15

Entry #1187

Back in Portland. Some quick updates.

Last California workout I deadlifted 480x2. Small signs of a turnaround. I've been doing good things for my back and on the second rep I squatted down pretty deep and the bar came up very strong. Use those legs.

Swiss bar benched 300x4, then was able to do 200x5x10.

Entry #1186

Staying in California until Saturday. Despite the stress of displacement and my stomach feeling like shit from drinking Muscle Milks in lieu of food at certain times, I set an all-time PR today.

Press:
180 x 5
200 x 3
225 x 4
> At last, surpassed 225x3 from four years ago, which has long been a goal of mine.

150 x 5 x 10

Neutral-grip chin-ups:
15, 15, 15, 15, 13

Seated cable rows:
160 x 15

Pressdowns and curls

I also went out drinking last night with George but made sure to eat high-protein bar food every few hours so I didn't go hungry. Little stuff like this pays off.

Entry #1185

Trained at 24 Hour Fitness today due to the athletic club being closed for Memorial Day.

Squats:
290 x 3
320 x 3
360 x 8

300 x 10, 10, 5

Leg curls:
155 x 8, 8, 10
Burnout set with some low weight
> Made me wish my regular place had a good curl machine. These felt good.

I also tried doing some unilateral dumbbell stiff-legged deadlifts with 55 pounders. Yeah, that wasn't happening, balance-wise.

Last day of training in Oregon for this week. Going to California tomorrow for immigration stuff. 

Entry #1184

Swiss bar bench press:
215 x 3
255 x 3
285 x 6
> Failed a 7th but I was so happy about my pec tendons feeling well from the struggle that I barely even cared. Unfortunately this does mean I'm at the same place as I was 5 months ago: http://l3loodfist.xanga.com/770936614/entry-1145/

However, completely maintaining strength during an injury is nothing to scoff at.

Incline Swiss bench:
160 x 5 x 10

Dumbbell rows:
132.5 x 10/8
> Hurt my back on the second arm so I stopped. Back has been feeling iffy since deadlifts (more on that later).

Inverted rows:
Entire stack x 10, 15, 20

Dumbbell rows:
132.5 x 10, 10
> Back ended up feeling better. 

Swiss bar preacher curls:
90 x 10, 10, 7

Had a terrible deadlift day. 430 felt heavy and I ended up not even being able to break 485 off the floor.

Entry #1183

Press:
165 x 3
190 x 3
215 x 4

147.5 x 4 x 10

V-handle pull-ups:
15, 15, 15

Ended it here because I had an appointment to make. Did a playground and home workout later at night.

Neutral-grip pull-ups:
15, 15, 13

Kettle extensions and curls

I keep forgetting to...oh, forget it.

Swiss bar benched 270x6 with a terrible set-up from lying too high on the bench and having to arc super low and slow to avoid hitting the pins. No worries about this. Then, wanting to deviate from my regimen, I did a medley of presses and extensions, trying to find the best fit for my pec tendons. Close-grip Swiss bar was the worst, did 2 sets of 10 with 200 lbs before I'd had enough. Surprisingly, floor crushers didn't feel great up there, either. Something about the grind off the floor that made me feel it in the tendons. Normal-grip bench felt better, but I think I've concluded that I had it right originally with incline pressing.

Squatted 340x11, which I was stoked about. Unfortunately I got up from a lying position on one leg and it made my knee hurt a little. I SSB squatted 295x10 but decided not to do anymore, so I just did 50, 30 reps of Hindu squats instead (no lockout).

Today I went on a 35 minute run and walked the way home.

Entry #1181

I keep forgetting to record my sessions.

Thursday

Deadlifts:
350 x 5
405 x 5
455 x 3, 5
> Trying to do touch-and-go and misgrooved on the third rep, losing all tightness. Probably just a concentration thing.

SSB squats:
310 x 5, 5

SSB good morning:
180 x 10

Crush gripper #1:
5, 5, 5

Friday

HIIT for slightly less than 9 minutes.

Entry #1180

Press:
155 x 5
180 x 5
202 x 6

145 x 5 x 10

V-handle pull-ups:
15, 15, 15, 13, 13

Tricep pressdowns, curls 

Entry #1179

Two sessions.

Swiss bar bench:
155 x 5
190 x 5

Incline Swiss bar bench:
157 x 3 x 10

Pendlay rows:
225 x 3 x 5

V-handle chin-ups:
15

Swiss bar preacher curls:
105 x 5

My deload plan is increasingly to keep the weight relatively heavy but to slash volume.

---

Squats:
155 x 5
190 x 5
235 x 5

SSB squats:
290 x 2 x 5

SSB good mornings:
175 x 2 x 10

Entry #1178

Oh no I don't. Midway through my monthly deload week neglect and I'm putting a stop to it.

In order, workout 1 being pre-deload.

Squats:
370 x 6
> Don't remember the build-up sets.

SSB squats:
290 x 10, 10

Abs

---

Press:
95 x 5
115 x 5
140 x 5

Standing Arnold press:
55s x 10
60s x 3 x 10
> Made my anterior delt hurt the next day. Nix these.

Wide variety of chin-ups and rows with Fat Gripz
> Sore forearms the next day.

Swiss bar preacher curls:
105 x 5

---

Deadlifts:
225 x 5
275 x 5
325 x 5
315 x 10
> Last set was touch-and-go. I've never been able to get used to it but it just clicked today. I've decided to stop fear-mongering about deadlifts and recovery and to just fucking pull from the floor consistently. The pattern I've noticed between periods of good and bad performance have always been high rep deadlifts, so I'm going to do what works.

SSB squat:
290 x 5

Entry #1177

Failed to deadlift 510. I'd been up all night and even 315 felt heavy so I'm not too worried. Still, I did go to Home Depot to check out how much patio tiles would run me for. $100 for 14. I'll keep it in mind if things just aren't happening here.

Swiss bar bench press:
235 x 5
265 x 3
295 x 4
> Bar clanged hard on the pins going down on the third rep and made me press with a 2-second pause off the chest for the fourth. Scared the hell out of me because of my pec tendons but astonishingly there was no pain at any point today, which is a milestone. Would have gotten 5 otherwise, but oh well. I'm happy with how light this felt. 

Incline Swiss bench:
155 x 5 x 10

Pendlay rows:
230 x 3 x 10

Cable rows:
Entire stack x 20, 20

Triceps and biceps 

Entry #1176

I am insane for doing this long a session on zero hours of sleep again.

Press:
175 x 5
200 x 3
220 x 3
> Felt like I was going to fall asleep. Had no mental focus and I stumbled back on rep 2, but my strength was there and I might have been able to muster a 4th. Belt and mouthpiece helped more than usual in this condition.

142 x 5 x 10

V-handle chin-ups:
15, 15, 13, 13, 13

Decline skullcrushers:
40s x 12, 10

Swiss bar preacher curls:
92 x 10
87 x 10
35 x 12
> Long eccentric.

Rear delt flyes:
20s x 25, 20

Came home to find that my girlfriend had bought me Metal Gear Rising and a card as a random present.

Entry #1175

Squats:
270 x 3
310 x 3
350 x 8
> Had gas for 1 or 2 more. Who says box squats don't have application for the raw lifter? I did nothing but them for a year and my squat hasn't detrained at all. I think I could have built on it if I'd box squatted more than once or twice a month. As long as you're going down and up with heavy weight you're doing something. 

295 x 10

Hindu squats:
50, 35
> No lockout.

Kettlebell swings:
25, 20

Reverse crunches:
25, 15 

Entry #1174

Stayed up all night to reset my sleep schedule. Thanks to my discovery of Diet Coke this didn't seem to affect my training performance, including joint pain.

Swiss bar bench press:
230 x 3
250 x 3
280 x 5
> Some aching on preliminary sets that got better the heavier I went. Didn't want to push past 5, although I was probably good for 7. As the weights increase week-by-week I'll be especially vigilant in monitoring my condition, which seems to be improving at least. Despite being tired and taking 4 days off the barbell felt like air. Caffeine or am I just stronger?

Swiss bar incline bench:
150 x 5 x 10 

Pendlay rows:
225 x 5 x 10
> Taking a break from unilateral rowing so I'm not supporting myself up with either arm, thereby stressing my pec-delt tie-ins even more. But wow, this felt great with a sumo stance. 

Skullcrushers:
45s x 8
40s x 8

Swiss bar preacher curls:
87 x 10, 8, 8
> The best bicep exercise I've ever done. Emphasized the eccentric for hypertrophy, something I did with skullcrushers too. 

Rear delt flyes:
20s x 20 

External rotations:
10s x 12 

Goddamn does it feel good to be in the sun again.

Entry #1173

Missed recording 265x5 Swiss bar bench and 330x9 squat sessions. Yes, I'm able to bench press again, but for the first two weeks of this cycle I'm not doing the +reps just to be safe.

Overhead press:
175 x 3
185 x 3
210 x 5
140 x 5 x 10
> Accidentally loaded the bar to 175 instead of 165. Also, this is a PR for that amount of weight. My blitzkrieg strategy of "eat and try to look like shit" is working marvelously.

Neutral-grip chin-ups:
15, 14, 13, 13, 13

Decline skullcrushers + Fat Gripz:
40s x 12

Dumbbell preacher curls:
40s x 3 x 8

Rear-delt flyes:
20s x 20

External rotations:
10 lbs x 12

Entry #1172

Just as I was stoked about weighing 229 on an empty stomach in the morning, I went off of creatine and lost 4 lbs. Aw.

Deadlifts:
350 x 5
455 x 5
> My new approach: stay at the bare minimum of reps until week 3.

RDLs (no floor contact):
225 x 20

Hindu squats (no lockout):
50, 30

Reverse crunches and planks 

Entry #1171

Press:
150 x 5
175 x 5
200 x 6
> Weight felt heavy on the warm-ups and then flew up with the 200. 

137 x 3 x 10

Neutral-grip chin-ups:
15, 13, 13, 13, 13
> Cautiously introducing movements back in. The plan was one per cycle. This time was chin-ups. No armpit pain. Really tempting to try a bench press this week. I'll warm-up to 185 and see how I feel.

Kettlebell skullcrusher:
50 x 3 x 10

Kettlebell curl:
50 x 3 x 12 

Entry #1170

Got a second kettlebell yesterday, 50 lbs for only $56 shipped. Today:

Kettlebell swings:
25, 15, 15, 15

40 minute walk 

Entry #1169

Seriously sleep deprived, but had a good night.

Squats:
285 x 5
320 x 3
360 x 5
295 x 9

Hindu squats:
50
> Didn't lock out on the last 20 reps. Do this with any bodyweight squats in the future, much harder.

Reverse crunches:
30, uncounted 

I also deloaded on the press the day before yesterday.

Entry #1168

Floor press:
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 1
> Testing the waters here. Gave up on this when I felt pain. 

Push press:
135 x 3
160 x 3
185 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 3
235 x 3

Swiss bar skullcrushers + Fat Gripz:
85 x 3 x 10, 15

Meadows rows:
100 x 10, 10, 10

Inverted rows:
30, 20, 15 

Entry #1167

Haven't felt inclined to log lately, which I always regret. Highlights: pressed 215x3 overhead, tweaked my back deadlifting 405, and ended bench day when my pec tie-ins hurt as much as ever. Going back today, this time replacing the bench press with the push press for the foreseeable future and relegating horizontal pressing to 5 sets of 20 incline Swiss bar press. Unfortunately, I'll also be nixing chin-ups/pull-ups because they aggravate the same region.

Entry #1166

My pec tie-ins are still hurting when I bench. Swiss bar didn't seem to make any difference. Benched 280x6 (202x5x10 paused for assistance work and 130x5x10 rows) with it and squatted 340x5 yesterday. At the bare minimum if this doesn't go away I'm going to change the BBB sets to something easier on the chest and if it still persists I'll just have to get creative with a bench press alternative.

Entry #1165

Missed recording a couple of great days.

I did squats for the first time in over a month and, more importantly, the first full squats in almost a year. No quadricep pain. I'm going to cautiously consider myself healed so I can finally run 5/3/1 with them again.

Squats:
Something
Something
320 x 5
> Nice and easy to start with. Because of severe deconditioning my legs were sore by the first set of warming-up with 135, and now three days later I can barely walk from DOMS. 

Dimel deadlifts:
225 x 20, 15

And then on Thursday:

Press:
160 x 3
180 x 3
205 x 5

Pause press:
135 x 3 x 10

V-handle chin-ups:
14, 13, 13, 13, 13

Dips:
20, 15

Band pull-aparts + curls

Entry #1164

Bench press:
95 x 5
135 x 5
205 x 5
235 x 5
265 x 10
> Nice. My shoulders ache during and after bench pressing, though (even on the 135 set). I might go back to the Swiss bar and roll with that all the way to meet day.

Swiss bar bench press:
202 x 3 x 10
> This felt way heavier than last week, probably because 290x5 wasn't as tiring as 265x10.

Dumbbell rows:
130 x 3 x 10

Dips:
20, 15

Band pull-aparts:
25, 20

Kettlebell curls:
35 x 10, 11

Entry #1163

First day of conditioning since getting sick. Ran three laps of hill sprints, jogged the short way home, and did 50, then 30 reps of kettlebell swings in the bedroom, with 20 reverse crunches on the floor. Had to force myself not to keep doing things after that. I have a habit of wanting to run myself into the ground when I do cardio.

I'm breaking a golden rule of meet preparation by trying out new things, but hell, my normal lower body protocol has been so screwy anyways what with recovering my quad injury that it's impossible to upset anything I've had going. In the interest of training three times a week and experiencing better deadlift performance training them infrequently, I'm only going to be pulling from the floor on the third week of the program (as well as the subsequent deload). I've been deadlifting in the 440-475 range for two years now and I don't think I'll be missing anything by training my body to handle higher weight exclusively now. We'll see how this works out.

Entry #1162

Skipping deload because I took a week off.

Press:
150 x 5
170 x 5
190 x 6
> Strength is coming back. I'm at where I was a month ago, which is good news. I've never been this solid after being sick before, nevermind taking an entire week off.

Pause press:
132 x 4 x 10
132 x 8

V-handle chin-ups:
13, 13, 13, 13, 13

Band pull-aparts:
15, 15, 15
> My second micro-mini snapped. That makes three snapped bands in all.

Curls

Entry #1161

Still coughing. Trying to train the bare minimum here.

Bench press:
230 x 5
260 x 3
290 x 5
> Gas for 1 more.

Swiss bar pause bench:
202 x 3 x 10

Dumbbell rows:
130 x 3 x 10

Dips:
20, 15

Inverted rows:
20, 15

Kettlebell curls:
15 x 20 

Entry #1160

I've been out for a week, easily the sickest I've ever been in my life. Last night was my first time back. I'm still sick, but recovered enough to feel functional.

Press:
145 x 5
185 x 3
210 x 1
> 145 felt so heavy that I was worried I wouldn't even get this for 1.

Pause press:
132 x 3 x 10

V-handle chin-ups:
13, 13, 13, 13

Dips:
12

Kettlebell curls:
25 x 15, 15

Felt uplifting to get in the gym and hit my goal.

Entry #1159

I'm sick and have been having lower back pain. I'm starting to think that I just wasn't meant to sit down in a chair. I've been busy writing and applying for work but I need to take better care of myself by breaking up computer periods into shorter blocks no more than 15 minutes. I'd also like to bring back my daily walks and maybe some yoga. No-brainer practices.

Bench press:
95 x 5
135 x 5
215 x 5
245 x 3
275 x 8
> Was good for another.

Swiss bar pause bench:
200 x 4 x 10

Dumbbell rows:
127.5 x 4 x 10

Dips:
20

Pull-ups:
18

45-second chin-up x 2

Sniffly and sneezy. Attempting to blast this into oblivion with a kale, ginger, garlic and fruit smoothie. 

Entry #1158

Back in Portland, still taking advantage of my free 7-day pass at 24 Hour Fitness.

Strict press:
65 x 5
95 x 5
155 x 3
180 x 3
200 x 5

Strict pause press:
130 x 5 x 10
> Getting pretty tough. I'm thinking I'll take the pauses out at 135.

Neutral-grip chin-ups:
13, 13, 13, 13, 12
> Amazing how much I've improved. I remember when my goal was 5 sets of 10 just a few months ago.

Dumbbell skullcrushers:
40s x 11

Rear-delt flyes:
25 x 15, 15

Dumbbell preacher curls:
32.5s x 12, 10, 6
> Was aiming for at least 10 on every set. Hold back on the first one next time and maybe go 3 sets of 10. 

Entry #1157

First gym day in California since I've arrived. I made plans with George without thinking and didn't want to cancel so this session was done at 1:30 AM (24 Hour Fitness) after an evening of blasting away Terminators at Nickel City.

Bench press:
95 x 5
135 x 5
200 x 5
225 x 5
260 x 10
> There's no power rack here so I had to make do with crappy benches that had the bar set way too low. Why the hell has this become a standard now across multiple chains? Who the fuck is designing these? My shoulder-pec tie-in began to hurt from pin pressing the bar up at an awkward angle to get set, so I asked someone for a lift-off on the 260 set. He asks "A spot?" and I reply "No, I just want a lift-off. I'm not planning on going to failure so I don't need any help on the reps." He nods. What does he do? As soon as I lower the first rep I notice he's keeping his hand on the bar the whole way through and I can actually feel the weight of his arm applying and unapplying weight in his attempt to move with me. Wtf? I considered reiterating that I don't need him to do that but then thought I don't want to break my concentration, which of course broke my concentration by internally debating it. I thanked him because I don't want to be rude to someone who was nice enough to help me out, though. I guess all I can say is I can't wait to be back in Portland.

Pause bench press:
200 x 3 x 10
> Pec was a little achy and this is starting to get hard just from a poundage perspective.

Dumbbell rows:
125 x 3 x 10
> Didn't bring my strap to CA.

Incline bench press:
155 x 10, 9

T-bar row:
3 plates x 10

Set of cable rows, and super-sets of rear-delt flyes + dumbbell preacher curls

Post-workout: eggs and sausages with white grape juice. Still eating at 4:52 AM, ugh.

Entry #1156

Had a great birthday workout (and birthday in general) yesterday. I'm visiting California today and won't have access to any specialty bars so I'm taking the opportunity to make the switch in anticipation of my powerlifting meet.

Overhead press:
145 x 5
165 x 5
190 x 7
> Belt and mouthguard. Yes, I'm proud of it.

Holy shit! I just had to sneeze with a mouthful of egg and didn't make it to the kitchen sink in time. Dammit.

Overhead press, paused:
127 x 5 x 10

V-handle chin-ups:
13, 13, 13, 12, 12
> Damn, my lats are sore now.

Decline dumbbell skullcrushers:
35s x 12

Rear-delt raises:
25s x 15, 15

Bilateral dumbbell preacher curls:
35s x 10, 8
25s x 12 

Au revoir, Portland.

Entry #1155

Swiss bar bench press:
227 x 5
257 x 3
287 x 5
> Weight felt pretty heavy tonight. Sleep has been erratic, though I've been making up for 6 hour nights with 2 hour naps in the same afternoon without fail yet still I always feeling tired. For the first time in awhile I'm looking forward to a deload. Also landed some creatine which I'll load with in the final half of the light week.

Swiss bar pause bench:
197 x 4 x 10
> Didn't use the Fat Gripz. Wow, so much easier. 

Dumbbell rows:
125 x 4 x 10
> Shoulder felt way better on this now that I'm not hyperextending.

Dips:
20

Inverted rows:
25

Curls at home using weights in my gym bag. 15, 15, 12 

Entry #1154

SSB box squat:
150 x 5
240 x 5
330 x 3
420 x 3
310 x 10
> Reracked on 3, rested 30 seconds, then made an attempt at 2 more but felt a twinge in my back during the walkout so I called it a day. Nothing I haven't done better at before but it was nice to at least be back in the game after getting 0 last week.

SSB squat:
150 x 10
> First time free squatting since August. No quad pain!

Entry #1153

Swiss bar overhead press:
162 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 3, 4
> Rested, turned on some metal, and banged out 4 on the second attempt, narrowly missing 5. I love a comeback set.

Swiss bar pause press:
127 x 10

V-handle chin-ups:
14

At the park:

Dips:
12, 12, 12, 12

Chin-ups:
12, 12, 12, 12

Curls at home

Entry #1152

Deadlift:
375 x 3
430 x 3
482 x 3
> Felt weak. No leg drive, despite repeatedly drilling it in my mind and doing kettlebell swings on Monday. I believe I may need to warm-up more incrementally and not go from 135 to the first set so suddenly. Maybe a missing link of 225 would be just enough tonnage to practice the form under weight.

SSB box squat:
290 x 10

Entry #1151

Swiss bar bench press:
212 x 3
242 x 3
272 x 8

Swiss bar pause bench + Fat Gripz:
195 x 5 x 10

Dumbbell rows:
122 x 5 x 10

Dips:
12, 12

External dumbbell rotations

Preacher curls 

Entry #1150

I have no idea why I've suddenly stopped updating on the days I lift. Better to be unmotivated in this area than the actual training, I guess. I almost fucking killed myself on squats so I deserve the break.

Saturday

Swiss bar overhead press:
152 x 3
172 x 3
195 x 6

Swiss bar pause OH + Fat Gripz:
125 x 5 x 10

V-handle chin-ups:
13, 12, 12, 12, 12

Curls

Sunday

ROM progression squat (11th pin):
460 x 0
> Couldn't even budge the weight.

SSB box squat:
420 x 0
> Failed. Sat on the platform like a dope for a second, then bailed out. The safety bars were pretty low so I had a long way to bend before freedom. It was jarring and my back was sore a bit, but nothing injured. Holy shit, would I have been dead without the safety bars with the way I exited myself. I basically just gradually careened forward while sitting on the box. Pretty stupid.

Box pause squat:
225 x 10

Farmer's walk:
100 lb dumbbells + Fat Gripz

I really had no leg power today. I didn't even fail the box squat by merit of struggle, I just rode the descent down and stuck to the stool.

Monday

Kettlebell swings:
25 lbs x 50, 30

Entry #1149

Took four days off because of lacking sleep. Diet was decent and very high in protein, but could have been higher in calories and with less time between meals. Here are two entries:

Tuesday

Swiss bar bench press:
195 x 5
225 x 5
257 x 10
> Barely passed the 10th. Good overall, especially considering my insecurities in taking any time off longer than three days. 

Swiss bar pause bench + Fat Gripz:
192 x 5 x 10

Dumbbell rows:
120 x 5 x 10

Curls

This fucking session took something like 2.5 hours. Felt nauseous from eating so much beforehand (I was watching Expendables 2 and kind of got lost in munching on walnuts after a bowl of chili and melted cheese, then ice cream and milk for dessert) and I didn't do the rows between press sets. Not gonna make this a habit.

Thursday

Deadlifts:
350 x 5
405 x 5
455 x 5
> Picking my battles, as Emevas likes to say, and saving my max effort for the third week. There were a lot of people in the gym tonight and I felt kind of shy about making noise, believe it or not. Even though I only planned to hit 5 anyway tonight my concentration wasn't there and I pulled too slowly off the floor, resulting in more back and less quad power. Need to focus.

ROM progression squats (10th pin):
475 x 8
> Was planning on hitting 15. Don't know if this depth is a sudden drop-off or if the deadlifts affected me this much here. Had some difficulty breaking the bar off the pins at first, and reps were bouncy. Not good. Think I'm going to repeat this next week on its own day and keep everything paused. Will monitor how my back feels.

Pause box squats:
225 x 2 x 10

GHR:
25 x 2 x 10 

Entry #1148

Swiss bar overhead press:
140 x 5
165 x 5
185 x 8

Swiss bar overhead pause press + Fat Gripz:
122 x 5 x 10

V-handle chin-ups:
12, 12, 12, 12, 12

Decline skullcrushers + Fat Gripz:
35s x 12, 10

Preacher curls:
75 x 7, 10, 8
> Assuming the EZ bar weighs 15 lbs.

Bent-over rear delt flyes:
30s x 15, 12 

Entry #1147

As is typical, I neglected to record two deload sessions for both presses, and am only really doing tonight's deload to keep in pace with my squats.

ROM progression squats (9th pin):
490 x 19

Deadlifts: 
210 x 5
265 x 5
315 x 5

Pause box squats:
225 x 2 x 10

GHR:
20

Sleeping schedule is all over the place, so I'm doing good with being so consistent. 

Entry #1146

ROM progression SSB squat (8th pin):
505 x 22
> Atrocious quad pump. Felt a little terrifying getting out because my legs felt numb and I couldn't feel if the bar was racked or not. 

Pause box squats:
225 x 3 x 10
> Warmed-up doing low bar, but couldn't keep doing that comfortably.  

Ab wheel:
5, 5, 5, 6, 6

CoC #1:
5 x 6 

Entry #1145

Swiss bar bench press:
225 x 5
255 x 3
285 x 6
> Very easy, might have been good for another.

Swiss bar pause bench + Fat Gripz:
192 x 10, 10, 10, 8
> Got a pair of 1 lb ankle weights to use for microloading. Not quite as accurate as 1-1/4 plates but who cares, haha. Plus they were only $3:50.

Kroc rows:
140 x 22/14
> The plates fell off for my left arm. Ran out of time here so I couldn't finish.

A ton of chins and dips at the park after. 

Entry #1144

Deadlifts:
395 x 5
450 x 3
500 x 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb08tVvCx-0

GHR:
15

Ab and grip stuff at home.

It's hard to believe that I've never pulled 500 off the ground (without bands, anyways). I'm so glad to be over the days of 12-rep deadlifts in the program, honestly. I hit some pretty good numbers with video that I'm happy to have but I honestly hope I never have to go through that again, haha (not from a dead stop, anyway).

Entry #1143

I've set my sights on a meet here in Portland on June 22. Though I haphazardly did a power clean competition in 2011 this will be my first actual powerlifting meet, so I'm pretty stoked. Since I've been hovering comfortably at 215 for over a year now I'll be competing in the 220 lb weight class. I considered 198 but I don't want to worry about cutting or weight manipulation for my introductory contest. I'm just going to get as strong as possible and worry about myself.

It's tempting to post goals right now but I'm so far away from doing singles that I'm not going to worry about that just yet. As for my programming? Continuing 5/3/1. I'm planning on rereading 5/3/1 for Powerlifting and determining if there are any noteworthy arguments for switching the weeks up when I'm currently enjoying success off the present scheme, but if there is it should be a fairly painless transition of simply making the change for a new cycle.

My California trip showed me that the Swiss bar is amazing for the straight bench, but I had trouble going from the safety bar squat to a normal squat. I have no concerns with my pressing, but I plan on doing straight bar squats as assist work for awhile before switching from SSB max squats to straight ones entirely.

Onward.

Entry #1142

Yesterday-

Swiss bar overhead press:
140 x 5
170 x 3
200 x 4
> Failed a fifth. 

Swiss bar pause press + Fat Gripz:
122.5 x 10, 10, 9, 1
> Failed a 10th, so I reracked and then hit a final rep. Lots of rest pausing. I can still ride this out. The problem is the gym closing on me and not being able to rest long enough.

V-handle chins:
12

At the park:

Neutral-grip chins:
12, 12, 12, 12

Dips: 12, 10

1-minute chin-ups:
1, 1, 1
> Insanely painful on the biceps. I love these.

Went on a relaxing 25-minute run tonight.